Britain's High Court has ruled against an evangelical Christian man's attempt to prosecute the BBC over its airing of the controversial program Jerry Springer — The Opera.

Two High Court judges ruled that "as a whole, [the broadcast] was not and could not reasonably be regarded as aimed at, or an attack on, Christianity or what Christians held sacred."

Stephen Green, director of the Christian Voice lobby group, had charged that the telecast was blasphemous and had been attempting to sue BBC director general Mark Thompson and Jon Thoday, the producer behind the musical.

Even before it aired Jerry Springer — The Opera in January 2005, the BBC received more than 50,000 complaints about the controversial show, which depicts God, Jesus, Mary, Adam and Eve as battling guests on an episode of the infamous U.S. talk show.

After the telecast, British broadcast regulator Ofcom said it received nearly 9,000 complaints, but it still concluded that the show was an important work and that the BBC had not broken any broadcast codes with the airing.

The raucous stage version of Jerry Springer — The Opera ran successfully in Britain from 2003 until 2006 and even won the title of best musical at the 2003 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.